About the WordThis word may be eponymous: Patrick Hooligan was an Irish-born ruffian who attained notoriety (and who died in prison) in London shortly before the turn of the 20th century. It's still associated with Britain, where "football hooliganism" is sometimes referred to as the "English disease."

SCALAWAGDefinitionMischievous and often morally corrupt person

Examples"The captain of Company L refused to recognize us; said we were deserters, and traitors, and scalawags; and when he drew rations for Company L from the commissary, he wouldn't give us any." – Jack London, The Road

About the WordAlso spelled scallywag, this term may originally have referred to an animal of very little value. After the Civil War, scalawag came to describe a white Southerner acting in support of reconstruction governments, often in pursuit of private gain; it was used to insult Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind. The origin of scalawag is unknown, but one theory suggests there's a link to the Scottish scoloc, a first-born son given to the Church to educate.

SCAMPDefinitionRascal; rogue

Examples"British director Guy Ritchie took Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes out of mothballs in 2009, giving him a sarcastic and kinetic update with the help of lovable scamp Robert Downey Jr." – Matthew Odam, Austin American-Statesman

About the WordScamp once functioned as a verb meaning "to roam about idly" (think scamper). The noun we've featured here appeared later, and has a more playful overtone than some other words on this list.

About the WordThere are no scallions in rapscallion. Rapscallion is an alteration of rascallion, which is itself an irregular formation of rascal, a term born in an Old French dialect word meaning "to scrape, clean off."